The Chicago Guide to Copyediting Fiction
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- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2023-03-19 07:51:36
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Amy J. Schneider
- ISBN：022676737X
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Summary
A book-world veteran offers the first copyediting guide focused exclusively on fiction。
Although The Chicago Manual of Style is widely used by writers and editors of all stripes， it is primarily concerned with nonfiction， a fact long lamented by the fiction community。 In this long-awaited book from the publisher of the Manual， Amy J。 Schneider， a veteran copyeditor who’s worked on bestsellers across a wide swath of genres， delivers a companionable editing guide geared specifically toward fiction copyeditors—the first book of its type。
In a series of approachable thematic chapters， Schneider offers cogent advice on how to deal with dialogue， voice， grammar， conscious language， and other significant issues in fiction。 She focuses on the copyediting tasks specific to fiction—such as tracking the details of fictional characters， places， and events to ensure continuity across the work—and provides a slew of sharp， practicable solutions drawn from her twenty-five years of experience working for publishers both large and small。 The Chicago Guide to Copyediting Fiction is sure to prove an indispensable companion to The Chicago Manual of Style and a versatile tool for copyeditors working in the multifaceted landscape of contemporary fiction。
Although The Chicago Manual of Style is widely used by writers and editors of all stripes， it is primarily concerned with nonfiction， a fact long lamented by the fiction community。 In this long-awaited book from the publisher of the Manual， Amy J。 Schneider， a veteran copyeditor who’s worked on bestsellers across a wide swath of genres， delivers a companionable editing guide geared specifically toward fiction copyeditors—the first book of its type。
In a series of approachable thematic chapters， Schneider offers cogent advice on how to deal with dialogue， voice， grammar， conscious language， and other significant issues in fiction。 She focuses on the copyediting tasks specific to fiction—such as tracking the details of fictional characters， places， and events to ensure continuity across the work—and provides a slew of sharp， practicable solutions drawn from her twenty-five years of experience working for publishers both large and small。 The Chicago Guide to Copyediting Fiction is sure to prove an indispensable companion to The Chicago Manual of Style and a versatile tool for copyeditors working in the multifaceted landscape of contemporary fiction。
Reviews
Robin Marwick
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I’ve been waiting for this book since Amy announced she was writing it， and it doesn’t disappoint。 Absolutely packed with great advice。 I especially appreciate the style sheet templates！
Karin Cather
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I've been a professional book editor for eight years， almost entirely in fiction。 As part of my training， I earned an editing certificate from UC Berkeley Extension。 I've also attended conferences， read articles and blog posts， and taken webinars。 All were taught/produced by experienced and accomplished editors。 Of course， I am familiar with the Chicago Manual of Style， the Copyeditor's Handbook， and more。 I've never read anything like The Chicago Guide to Copyediting Fiction。 Chicago Guide does I've been a professional book editor for eight years， almost entirely in fiction。 As part of my training， I earned an editing certificate from UC Berkeley Extension。 I've also attended conferences， read articles and blog posts， and taken webinars。 All were taught/produced by experienced and accomplished editors。 Of course， I am familiar with the Chicago Manual of Style， the Copyeditor's Handbook， and more。 I've never read anything like The Chicago Guide to Copyediting Fiction。 Chicago Guide does cover the technical elements but somehow focuses on the ones on which CMOS is silent。 Or the ones which are buried in CMOS。 Or the ones we find ourselves looking up the most。 On the other hand， Chicago Guide addresses the kinds of issues that copyeditors should be spotting and addressing but that many copyeditors don't know to， or professional copyeditors do spot but don't know how to document so as to make them accessible， or what it might not occur to even experienced professionals to spot。 There is also guidance on the wording of queries which， in the world of SiLeNtLy JuDgiNg GrAmMaR， is desperately relevant。What kinds of issues should copyeditors consider other than where that comma goes？ Well， in chapter 9 （"When Fact and Fiction Collide"）， for example， Chicago Guide discusses issues like anachronisms but also identifies the kinds of "errors" that aren't errors。 For example， you don't want the author to use an email address or phone number that could belong to an actual person。 Your author also might not want to get a cease-and-desist letter from the holder of a trademark。The most glorious thing in Chicago Guide is the style sheet。 Many editors think of style sheets as places to identify the dictionary， document the spelling of words that are style choices， when to italicize， how to spell the name of that alien with the tentacles who has an appetite for cilantro， and similar。 But Chicago Guide also shows us coherent ways to document elements of a novel that might not occur to editors to pay attention to。 When an editor follows the Chicago Guide's recommendations for the style sheet， the style sheet can also assist the author as they write the sequel。 After all， the author will be finishing Teenage Monster months or more after writing Baby Monster。 The odds of forgetting whether the alien liked cilantro or anchovies is high。 There can also be issues with dates， character attributes， names of crewmembers， and timelines。 And more。And can I give a happy shout-out to the indexer？ I took a spin through the index and found that it was comprehensive and intuitive。 There is so much more here。 I'm puzzled by the untrained "self-taught" reviewer who thinks *any* of the information contained in this book is obvious or basic。 I mean， yeah， some of the basics are covered， but， more importantly， the author also points out some "rules" that can be up for grabs in fiction。 Because the worst thing an editor can do is inflict zombie rules or insist on total fealty to rules that can be loosened or set aside。 And， again， her style guide， and all of the stuff in her book that is， sorry， not in CMOS but should be。Finally， the author's writing style is conversational， clear， witty， and accessible。 No one would read CMOS from cover to cover， but Chicago Guide is written so well that I've found myself reading it for pleasure。 The way it's written doesn't just make the prose enjoyable， it also assists the reader in retaining the information in the book in the first place。This book belongs on the syllabus of any course involving writing or editing fiction。 In the meantime， I cannot recommend this book strongly enough。 。。。more
Jason Pettus
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2023 reads， #18。 This is currently the big hot book within the tiny insular world of book editors that I belong to， a practical guide by an academic veteran on the differences between copy-editing a novel and copy-editing a textbook， and what kinds of special issues the fiction editor needs to look out for and consider that you would not have to worry about within the more traditional world of academic papers， journalism， legal documents and other kinds of writing that usually need to be "techni 2023 reads， #18。 This is currently the big hot book within the tiny insular world of book editors that I belong to， a practical guide by an academic veteran on the differences between copy-editing a novel and copy-editing a textbook， and what kinds of special issues the fiction editor needs to look out for and consider that you would not have to worry about within the more traditional world of academic papers， journalism， legal documents and other kinds of writing that usually need to be "technically perfect。" Unfortunately for me， though， I've never been a part of that traditional editing world myself， but am a self-taught editor who's spent his entire career so far in the world of indie fiction; so I actually knew pretty much 100% of every single piece of advice Amy Schneider gives here in her slim but informationally dense 200-page guide， and I have to confess that I was legitimately shocked at all the cartoonishly obvious things that traditional academic copyeditors apparently need to be told about how to actually edit fiction。 Guess what？ Sometimes authors have their characters say things that are grammatically deliberately wrong！ Sometimes authors will put things a different way than you would， and that's okay！ Sometimes characters will do things you don't like， such as smoke or curse or be racist or kill someone， but you should still let them do it because it might be important to the plot！Sheesh， are there really a bunch of copyeditors out there who need to be told such ridiculously basic things？ Apparently so， or else this book wouldn't exist， much less be one of the most talked-about titles in this category in the last year。 That's great news for me， because it's proof that I actually have way less serious competition for fiction editing jobs than I had thought I had; but that still didn't make this very useful to me， beyond it containing useful factual information about copy-editing that Schneider （self-admittedly） pulls straight from the larger book from her publisher on this subject， the revered Chicago Manual of Style， and I suspect that other editors who are already fiction veterans will also find this book as disappointing as I did。 If， however， you're the kind of uptight fusspot academic editor with a permanently clenched butthole who would never dare allow an author to say that something was "decimated" to mean it was destroyed WHEN EVERYONE CLEARLY KNOWS THAT "DECIMATE" MEANS TO REDUCE SOMETHING BY ONE-TENTH AND THEREFORE SHOULD NEVER BE USED IN ANY OTHER CONTEXT THAN TO DESCRIBE WHEN SOMETHING IS BEING REDUCED BY EXACTLY TEN PERCENT， then sister， this book was exactly designed for you。 Despite it not being too useful for me， I'm giving it a high score anyway， because it will be extremely useful to a lot of others。。。apparently。 Sigh。 。。。more
Lori Paximadis
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Copyeditors have long wished for a comprehensive and authoritative guide to working with fiction， and The Chicago Guide to Copyediting Fiction fills that void admirably。 Amy Schneider takes you by the hand and provides valuable guidance on approach and fiction-specific style considerations based on her vast experience。 New and seasoned fiction copyeditors both will find it useful in their day-to-day work。 Authors， too， can benefit from the wealth of knowledge in this book， especially the section Copyeditors have long wished for a comprehensive and authoritative guide to working with fiction， and The Chicago Guide to Copyediting Fiction fills that void admirably。 Amy Schneider takes you by the hand and provides valuable guidance on approach and fiction-specific style considerations based on her vast experience。 New and seasoned fiction copyeditors both will find it useful in their day-to-day work。 Authors， too， can benefit from the wealth of knowledge in this book， especially the sections on characters and timelines。 This book is a must-read for every copyeditor who works with fiction。 。。。more
Burwell56
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I have been waiting for a book like this。 Finally， confirmation of some grammar decisions I've made in writing fiction。 And approval for things I wanted to do but have been too afraid to。 Thanks much to Amy J。 Schneider。 I have been waiting for a book like this。 Finally， confirmation of some grammar decisions I've made in writing fiction。 And approval for things I wanted to do but have been too afraid to。 Thanks much to Amy J。 Schneider。 。。。more
Katherine
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I have been waiting so eagerly for this， and now I have it！ It's yellow。 It's cheerful。 It's completely relevant to all the work I do。 I'm a big fan of the Chicago Manual of Style， but that thing is heavy （especially when dropped on toes） and sometimes it can be hard to find exactly the answers to editing questions you're asking （even using the online version）， since it's aimed more at nonfiction。 Well， Super-Amy is here to save the day。 Having attended plenty of webinars that Amy has presented， I have been waiting so eagerly for this， and now I have it！ It's yellow。 It's cheerful。 It's completely relevant to all the work I do。 I'm a big fan of the Chicago Manual of Style， but that thing is heavy （especially when dropped on toes） and sometimes it can be hard to find exactly the answers to editing questions you're asking （even using the online version）， since it's aimed more at nonfiction。 Well， Super-Amy is here to save the day。 Having attended plenty of webinars that Amy has presented， I thought this book would be pretty much that （extremely valuable） advice in book form。 I certainly didn't expect her to go into such detail about specific style questions， like how to capitalize stuttered words in dialogue， and what to do if they're proper nouns。I like this so much I've also ordered a physical copy to admire on my shelf while I use the easily searchable digital edition to guide my work as a freelance fiction editor from here onward。 This is a masterpiece。 Amy gets to the point and explains things clearly， concisely， and in the order you probably are looking for them。 Just the thing to save you time when faced with a tricky editing situation。 It's in plain English so you don't need to look up things to understand the thing you were looking up， and it's professional and non-prescriptive。 She doesn't forbid semicolons as some might， for example， but mentions that some people do， and some people don't。 Add it to the style sheet and make it consistent。On top of the style questions she's answering， she also provides useful advice on how working with multiple screens can benefit an editor， what sort of mindset a fiction editor should try to have， efficient workflows， setting up and making the most effective use of your style sheet， and managing all those files。 TBH， the only criticism I have of this is that yellow cover; it should have been gold。 Because everything between the covers is。 。。。more
Cary Morton
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The Chicago Guide to Copyediting Fiction is an invaluable resource for anyone interested in copyediting fiction stories， or even writing them。 The author provides a comprehensive explanation of what is and isn't the copyeditor's job， as well as examples for workflow， lists of things to check and look out for， and tools to help with the process。I found the guide easy to read and follow， and filled with tons of information。 I would highly recommend you pick up a hard copy of this one for easy sea The Chicago Guide to Copyediting Fiction is an invaluable resource for anyone interested in copyediting fiction stories， or even writing them。 The author provides a comprehensive explanation of what is and isn't the copyeditor's job， as well as examples for workflow， lists of things to check and look out for， and tools to help with the process。I found the guide easy to read and follow， and filled with tons of information。 I would highly recommend you pick up a hard copy of this one for easy searching-through。 Worth giving a read-through！ 。。。more
tpg0
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I cannot provide a personal opinion on the book as I am an AI language model and do not have the capability to read books or have personal opinions。 However， "The Chicago Guide to Copyediting Fiction" is a comprehensive guide to copyediting fiction written by Elizabeth A。 Lyon。 The book covers topics such as grammar， style， punctuation， and formatting for fiction manuscripts。 It is a useful resource for copyeditors， writers， and anyone interested in improving their writing and editing skills。
tpg1
，
I'm sorry， as an AI language model， I don't have any personal views or opinions。 However， I can provide you with information on the book 'The Chicago Guide to Copyediting Fiction'。 'The Chicago Guide to Copyediting Fiction' is a comprehensive guide for copyeditors who specialize in fiction。 The book is written by professional editors and is designed to help copyeditors understand the unique elements of fiction writing， such as characterization， plot， and dialogue。 The guide covers a wide range of topics， including grammar， punctuation， and style， and offers practical advice on how to deal with common issues that arise during the copyediting process。 It also includes examples from well-known authors and exercises to help copyeditors apply their skills。 Overall， 'The Chicago Guide to Copyediting Fiction' is a valuable resource for anyone who wants to improve their copyediting skills and specialize in editing fiction。
tpg2
，
As an AI language model， I am not capable of having personal opinions， but I can provide you with a book review。 The Chicago Guide to Copyediting Fiction is a comprehensive guide to copyediting in the fiction publishing industry。 It covers everything from grammar and punctuation to style and usage， and it provides a detailed explanation of the copyediting process， including how to work with authors， editors， and publishers。 The book is written in a clear and concise style， which makes it easy to follow and understand。 It also includes numerous examples and exercises， which help readers to apply the concepts covered in the book。 The Chicago Guide to Copyediting Fiction is an excellent resource for anyone interested in pursuing a career in copyediting or for writers who want to learn more about the copyediting process。 Overall， The Chicago Guide to Copyediting Fiction is a highly informative and useful book that provides readers with the knowledge and skills they need to be successful in the fiction publishing industry。
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the chicago guide to copyediting fiction